


For Whom the Bell Tolls

by MyDarlingClementine



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben is a sparrow - Freeform, Christopher the Cube, Five Hargreeves Loves His Family, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Number Five | The Boy, I'm Sorry, I'm sorry Five, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Number Five | The Boy Whump, Number Five | The Boy-centric, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 02, Reginald Hargreeves Being an Asshole, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, SO SORRY, Someone please give this boy a hug, Veginald Hargrapes, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28865970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyDarlingClementine/pseuds/MyDarlingClementine
Summary: Five’s eyes shot open as consciousness hit him like a sledgehammer.What? Where am I?“Welcome back, Number Five.” The words were crisp; the voice familiarly ominous.“What…” Five's voice was dry, cracked. “What do you want?”“The answer to that question should be obvious, Number Five,” the voice said coldly. “Why, I wantyou.”
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Reginald Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Everyone
Comments: 35
Kudos: 153





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, so I started this back in October when the Evil Five speculation began, but it made me so goddamn sad that I couldn't bring myself to look at it again until now. But apparently I'm finally disaffected enough by the s3 speculations and also in a sufficiently whumpy mood...(FIVE I'M SORRY)
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy. :)

_Wham._ Five’s eyes shot open as consciousness hit him like a sledgehammer. 

_What? Where am I?_

His thoughts were moving slowly, and were sticky against the inside of his brain. Meanwhile, he could feel his heart beating like a racehorse. His insides felt hot yet his fingers and toes were numb and clammy. 

Five swallowed and blinked twice, trying to remove the gunk from his throat and the glue from his eyes. He tried to sit up, but the room lurched and spun around him, causing a wave of severe nausea. He immediately leaned over and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor.

“Welcome back, Number Five.” The words were crisp; the voice familiarly ominous.

Five lay back, his head pressed against a hard surface, squeezing his his eyes shut and _willing_ the nausea to leave. 

_Deep breaths. One. Two. Three._

On the third, he opened his eyes again. He couldn’t see more than a few feet. A bright light shone upon him but the room was otherwise shrouded in darkness. 

_Where am I?_

He tried to move his still numb arms but felt a resistance of some sort. 

_Restraints. I’m tied to a… table?_

Everything was so damn fuzzy. He just needed the room to stop spinning for one second so he could _think._

_Four breaths. Five._

Suddenly, there was no time to think. A surge of adrenaline shot through his body as his brutally slow instincts finally processed the fact that he was in _danger_ he needed to _escape escape escape escape now now now._

Pulling on his powers, Five felt the familiar electric buzz course through his body. Then, a jolt of lightning crashed through him, scattering the blue energy and flying his nerves at the same time. Five cried out in surprise and pain as his powers failed him. 

His captor’s voice returned. “I am afraid that you will find teleporting _quite_ impossible, Number Five. I have spent many years perfecting the combination of drugs that will render your powers inert. Thank you for confirming that this cocktail is successful, and that my... _very expensive_ research has paid off.”

Five closed his eyes and swallowed. “What…” his voice was dry, cracked. He swallowed. “What do you want?”

“The answer to that question should be obvious, Number Five,” the voice said coldly. “Why, I want _you_.”

That voice.

That voice was familiar.

That voice belonged to... Reginald.

_Shit. Fuckgoddamnitshit…_

Curses flew through Five’s brain as the memories came flooding back all at once. The showdown in the barn with the Handler. Using the briefcase to travel back to 2019. Landing in the lobby of the Academy. 

The Sparrows.

Ben.

_Reginald._

The Umbrella Academy, initially taken by surprise, had fought in the hallways of their former home. At a disadvantage because they didn’t know the powers of their adversaries, whereas their adversaries apparently had copious notes on each of them. That was thanks to the disaster-dinner in 1963, Five supposed. Reginald apparently walked away from that dinner with more than pineapple chunks on his vest. 

Reginald was still talking. “...and now that I have confirmed the potency of the drug to keep your powers in check, we are ready to move onto Step 2. I think you will find it… quite interesting.” The voice became slightly quieter, and Five could hear shuffling movements, as if objects were being moved around on a table. 

_Where were his siblings?_

_\---_

Five had been cornered, crouched down behind the bar as Ben advanced upon him. No - he wasn’t after _Five -_ Ben’s attack was aimed at a vulnerable _Klaus,_ who was pinned down underneath a table, harried by a strange floating object. 

As he saw the Horror reach out for Klaus, Five caught Klaus’s eye and saw fear overlaid with... _betrayal_ that their own brother’s - _Ben’s_ powers were being used against the Umbrellas.

It simply wasn’t fair, Five thought unhelpfully. They had _finally_ made it back to 2019 and were immediately thrown in the midst of another brawl.

 _Nothing_ about time-travel ever went right for Five.

Five teleported, jumping into the air and knocking the floating object off balance and away from Klaus. A shiver of cold wrecked through Five’s body as he made contact with the object. 

Then, a tentacle grabbed him and _squeezed_. 

Five thumped to the ground, consciousness leaving him even as gravity took hold. 

Blackness. 

\---

“Fuck you, Da - Reginald” Five spat out. “Where’s my family?” 

Reginald’s face floated over Five’s, close enough to come into focus. “Oh, you do not have to worry, Number Five. You will see your family soon enough.”

Five snarled and thrashed against his restraints. “If you hurt them - I’ll - ”

“Number Five, calm yourself. _I_ have no intention of hurting your siblings. Of course, that will only remain true _if_ you cooperate…” Reginald turned up his lips in a gesture that was less of a smile and more of a threat. 

Five scrunched up his face, breathing heavily, his eyes narrowed eyes in anger. He was biting down on his jaw so hard he could feel his teeth grind. His hands were balled up into useless fists. 

“Now, Number Five.” Reginald was suddenly all business again. “Enough of this. We must not waste time.”

Reginald leaned down towards Five, holding something in his right hand. 

Five growled, spat, thrashed against his bonds. “Where are they?” he demanded again. _“Reginald - where is my family?”_

The only answer was the sharp sting of a needle against his neck. Five gasped as _cold_ ran through his veins. His body went limp and he was plunged into darkness.

\---

“Fuck, FUCK IT,” Diego screamed as he smashed his hand into a brick wall in rage. “What do you mean Five didn’t make it out? We’ve gotta go back. We can’t just leave him!”

“Diego, we had to get out of there,” Allison snapped. “Five was gone. Ben - The Horror got him, or that _cube_ zapped him or something - I don’t know but he was _gone_. _We_ -” her hands gestured around to include Klaus and Luther, who was holding onto a stumbling Vanya - “barely got out of there.” 

“Diego, calm down. We’ll go back Five, but you have to calm down,” Luther implored. None of them were calm, not really, but punching walls wasn’t going to help the situation. “We need to regroup and figure out a plan - we can’t just run in there -”

“We _left_ him,” Diego interrupted. “We _left_ him with that _asshole_ that _you_ call a Father, Luther.” He turned, and suddenly started walking back the way they came. “I’m going back after him.”

Luther and Allison shared a look of exhaustion and horror. They had _just_ escaped. They were barely down the street. It wasn’t clear whether they were being followed. 

“Allison… can you…” Luther pleaded, his question unspoken but understood.

“ _I_ _heard a rumor,”_ she began. Diego began to run, but it was futile. “ _that you came with us.”_

Diego stopped on a dime as Allison’s powers shocked his frame into stillness. Then, he turned, and the siblings could see white hot _rage_ in his eyes for the split second before they went totally white. He stepped towards them, haltingly at first, then faster. 

“Come on,” Luther commanded. “We’ve got to find a place to hole up. Then we’ll figure out how to rescue Five.”

\---

Klaus was following his brothers, numbly, not yet able to process what has just happened.

He hadn’t yet told the others what he saw. The look in Five’s eyes as Ben turned his powers on Klaus. A flash of fear, then raw _anger_ as Five disappeared. Klaus had been _frozen_ but Five wasn’t. Five took _action._

 _The Boy_ reappeared in a flash of blue, flying through the air. He had timed his teleport and leap to give him the momentum needed to push the cube away from Klaus.

But in doing that, Five absorbed the energy that was meant to hit his brother.

Klaus saw Five stiffen as he made contact with the cube, then he fell to the ground.

Klaus scrabbled towards his fallen brother, but Ben stepped between them, and suddenly the Horror was in every direction, crashing the table that Klaus was hiding under, picking him up and throwing him towards the others, who were congregated in the foyer of the Academy.

When he looked back, Five was gone. Klaus thought he remembered the spot where his brother landed, but it was just a mess of broken table bits and remnants of a vase. No brother to be seen. 

The seven Sparrows converged on the five remaining Umbrellas. Vanya had been knocked out somehow, and was being carried by Luther, who was bleeding from a nasty gash on his head. Diego was still on his feet, being harried by a flock of birds which dodged his knives with aplomb. Allison was losing ground againat the pair of Sparrows attacking her.

Klaus realized the Umbrellas were being _routed_.

They were being _herded._

And then suddenly they were outside, running down the street. As they ran, Klaus looked around, horrified to see that while there were five siblings, there was no _Five._

Five had been taken.

\----

The next time Five woke up was sudden and violent, with consciousness again crashing into him like ocean waves against a rock. This time his instincts recovered more quickly, and he immediately began straining against his bonds. Adrenaline surged through his body, his reflexes focused on _escape escape escape_ even while his mind came to terms with being awake again. 

It was the same, but it was also... different.

He didn’t feel numb this time. Instead, he felt a burning sensation course through his body, lighting each nerve on fire. The feeling was so intense, he gasped like a fish, his mouth gaping open and his eyes widening in shock and surprise. 

He felt so… alive.

As his vision unblurred, he saw that he could see the world around him in sharp clarity. Colors were bright with an intensity that he had not seen before. 

“What… what did you do to me?” Five gasped. He couldn’t _see_ Reginald yet, but he knew he must be there.

“Welcome back, Number Five.” Reginald began cordially. “I have made some... changes to your DNA. Changes that will make you more… effective for my purposes.”

_Changes? What the hell is he talking about?_

Reginald continued. “I am afraid that it will be necessary to keep you restrained to ensure that there are no unplanned side effects.”

Five felt his heart racing and he gasped for breath. His thoughts were moving _fast_ \- almost too fast to keep up.

“Tell me, Number Five,” Reginald inquired, once again peering over at Five “How do you feel?”

Five ignored the man, concentrating on the intense sensations running through his body. The fire that had run through his body had finally settled in his core, a burning sensation that overpowered all others. It swirled and shifted and formed itself into... an emotion. 

An emotion that Five was intimately familiar with. 

_Rage._

Five had spent decades keeping the rage in check, keeping his emotions in balance. More than once, he had wrestled _rage_ back into its cage, where it snarled and threatened him. But Five’s control over his mind and his body had been precise. Had been strong. 

For four decades, he had kept the rage at bay.

Five _had_ been strong. 

No, Five was _still_ strong.

But the _rage_ was stronger. 

Five felt his lips curl up in a sneer. He barked out a challenge to Reginald, the sound drowned out by the roar of the blood in his ears, the pounding of the rage in his heartbeat. 

“Excellent, Number Five,” Reginald nodded coldly as he stepped back. “Let us begin the tests.”

\---

Five found the tests reminiscent of his childhood training regimens, only with an intensity that he had never felt before. He woke up in a room over and over again, with various objectives. 

Usually, the objective would be to _kill_ whatever was in front of him. 

At first, Five refused. He stood, sneering, defiant, refusing to participate in Regonald's games.

Yet time and time again, his found that his hands would begin to shake, and then his limbs, as the _rage_ overtook him. He became a backseat passenger in his own body. Over and over again Five watched his hands and his nails and sometimes even his _teeth_ tear the life out of whatever animal - or person, sometimes it was _people,_ a thought that Five tried to push out of his mind. 

Five had killed before, many times in cold blood. _Many_ times. Without a thought for the _life_ or the _impact_ of his actions beyond his motivation - _to get home to save his family._

But this. This somehow was _different,_ and each death - each _kill -_ sickened Five to his core. 

As Five came back into himself after a particularly gruesome _test_ where he had taken out four armed enemies with a single knife (where did Reginald find the participants, he wondered faintly), he collapsed, retching on the floor. Miserable, he tried pulling on his powers once again, which produced merely a faint blue glow, followed immediately by a flood of pain. 

Five lay on the ground panting. Exhausted. How long had Reginald been testing him? It was hard to say. He knew he was disassociating, that he was losing time. He was sure it had been at least a day, possibly a few days. 

_Maybe longer?_

“Ah, Number Five,” Reginald’s disembodied voice said through the loudspeaker. No one was ever in the room with Five, except his victims. Several times he woke up back in the laboratory room, tied to the table with no recollection of how he had gotten there. 

The thought was fuzzy, just like everything else in Five’s mind as he lay on the ground, his mind a tangled mess. 

“Number Five,” the loudspeaker boomed. “You have completed this last series of tests splendidly. Well done. You are now ready for the _final test_.”

Five felt his lips curl up in a snarl. He wiped the blood from his face, and planted his hands against the floor. His arms shook, but he pushed himself to his feet anyway, standing in defiance. 

_Enough of this._

“Fuck you, Reginald.” He was long past the point of calling this man _Dad._ “Fuck you. I’m done with your tests.”

“Now, Number Five, you have no power here.” Reginald’s voice deepened and he spoke in a clipped tone. “You will be done when I deem the testing _complete."_

Five felt woozy and swayed on his feet, suddenly and overwhelmingly lightheaded.

 _Reginald must be using some sort of gas to drug me. Or more than one - one to bolster the modifications, and one to incapacitate me._

Five made a sound like a whine as he dropped down to his knees. He tried to push away the sensations that were clawing at him. The rage, the... _hunger_ that was pulled up from his core, even as his grasp on consciousness slipped. 

No. No. This was not him. This was _Not Five._

But it was. 

He fell to the ground, his lips curled up in anticipation of the next _test._

\---

Five woke up in the laboratory. To his surprise, this time he was alone. As usual, it was dark, with only the single light above him to illuminate the cold metal table upon which Five lay.

Reginald’s words rung in his ears.

_What would be the final test?_

A noise from the corner grabbed Five’s attention. A whisper. 

Not Reginald. 

Different.

_Who’s there?_

“Whatever you’ve got planned for me, you can shove it up your own ass,” Five spat at the unknown visitor. 

“Five!” the voice hissed. "It's _me_ , dumbass."

_That voice...it’s familiar._

Five turned his head as far as the restraint would allow, and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw _Diego_ creeping out from the corner towards him.

Suddenly, Five knew what Reginald's _test_ must be.

_No, no no nonononononononono._

Cold fear filled the pit of Five's stomach and he gasped in horror. 

_God no._

Not this. 

_Anything_ but this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Five, oh my god, what did he do to you?” Allison asked.
> 
> “We’ll get you out of here.” Five saw Luther’s face hovering over him, and suddenly strong hands were wrenching at the bonds holding him to the table. “It’s ok buddy, we got you.” 

_No, no, no god no, they can’t be here._

Five’s vision was blurry and the room swam around Diego's form. Trying to shake off the dizziness, he heard two sets of thudding footsteps run in to join Diego in the room. 

“Five, oh my god, what did he do to you?” he heard Allison ask.

“We’ll get you out of here.” Five saw Luther’s face hovering over him, and suddenly strong hands were wrenching at the bonds that held him to the table. 

_No no no go away please go away you have to leave -_

Five screwed up his face, and Luther pulled back, misunderstanding the expression as pain from his attempts to free Five. “It’s ok buddy, we've got you,” Luther soothed. 

Five swallowed the dry nothingness in his mouth. “Luther - get...get out,” he gasped. Adrenaline already pounded in his ears, his breath hitching and unsteady.

The hands stopped moving. Luther, Diego and Allison turned to look at him, confusion on their faces. “Get out _now”_ Five hissed.

The three siblings shared a look, then in unison ignored Five and continued to work on his bonds. 

_Shit, I'm not making sense. they probably think that I’m drugged_.

It was true. But not in the way that they imagined.

It was so much worse. 

Five continued struggling, fighting his own traitorous body’s now familiar response to being around other people. He could _smell_ them. The intoxicating odor brought a wave of pleasure and revulsion, and Five shuddered. 

“Five, shh calm down, we’re here to rescue you.” Diego looked up at a distant noise somewhere within the building. “We don’t have a lot of time, we took out the guards but there’s probably more on the way. Can you teleport?”

 _No._ Five shook his head. He was suddenly and desperately grateful for Reginald’s cocktail of drugs that neutralized his powers. Without them, it’d be harder from his siblings to escape from danger. 

To escape from _him._

His head and right arm were now free, and Allison was working frantically to untie the bonds holding his left hand. Five ignored her, instead twisting and pushing himself up until he could grab a handful of Diego’s shirt. 

“ _Listen to me_ ” he cried, pulling his face close to his brother’s. The odor of his sweat was intoxicating, almost overwhelming. “Get out of here, Diego - all of you. Get away from me,” he cried, pushing against Diego futilely. 

Diego was so close. It would be _so easy._

Rejecting Five’s attempts to escape, Diego pulled him closer instead, and Five panted and shuddered. His other hand finally free, he grabbed at his own head, tugging at his hair frantically.

Five half jumped, half fell off the table and backed away from the trio. He felt like a wounded animal, cornered. 

_Feral._

“Get out. You can’t help me, I…Dad…” the words trailed off as another shudder overtook him. Still shaking, he sank down to the ground, and curled into a ball, hands still pulling on his hair. 

"Five, what’s wrong with you?” Luther asked, coming closer - _too damn close you fool._ “You look like….” He turned away from Five and addressed the others “He looked like the time he was trying to kill an older version of himself. This must be paradox psychosis? But how?” Turning back to Five, “Five, is there another _you_ in this timeline?”

Five shook his head violently. Luther’s crouched position and turned head left his neck open - _oh so vulnerable, it would feel so nice to just sink his teeth in -_

Five shook his head violently. His control was slipping, his reserves nearly empty. 

Time had run out.They needed to leave, _now._

“Get…out….Luther…can’t…help…this…time…psy – psychosis” Five gasped out, his voice cracking from the strain. He chanced a look up at his brother, meeting Luther’s eyes.

“Get _out!”_ he spat desperately, pleadingly. 

Then the words turned into a laugh as he felt the last of his control of the situation, of _himself_ slip away. Five stood up, looking at his brothers, a feral grin that he never wanted them to see on his face. Diego had come to stand next to Luther, but both of them backed away slightly, instinctively at Five’s expression. 

He wasn’t a wounded animal any longer.

He was the _hunter._

Five advanced slowly on Diego, haltingly.

He wanted to snap Diego’s neck. 

_He didn’t want this._

It would be so easy. 

Tears fell down Five’s face, mixing with his own sweat. 

_I’m sorry._

“Five - wha -” Before Diego could even get the words out, Five lunged forward. Diego instinctively went to grab him - _wrong move, idiot_ \- but at the last second Five switched tactics and went for Luther instead. The small part of his brain that still belonged to him reasoned that Luther was bigger, he probably stood a better chance to survive. 

_And hopefully take me out,_ Five reasoned with his last ounce of sanity. 

His attack had no grace, no style, just ferocity as he leaped onto the giant. Luther had turned slightly, so Five landed off center, one arm hanging wrapped tight around his neck while his other searched for the soft spots - eyes, nose, mouth. 

Any of them would do. 

Luther roared with pain and shock at being assaulted by his teenage older brother. Instinctively, he grabbed Five by the arm, and _ripped_ him off his back. 

Five was scrappy and strong, but no match for Luther's brute force. He felt his grip melt away as the giant grabbed him and threw him across the room into the wall. 

His head hit the concrete, and the rage retreated along with consciousness.

Five sunk into blackness. 

\---

“What the _fuck_ was that?” Allison screamed, rushing over as Luther grabbed his face in pain. “What’s wrong with Five? He's - he's gone crazy.”

They stared at their brother sprawled against the wall, his limbs tangled and gangly. His sleek black outfit, reminiscent of the ones that Reginald had forced upon them in their youth, only exacerbated his diminutive size. Blood flowed freely from his nose and pooled under his head. 

Diego cautiously moved over to examine Five’s form. This time, he was prepared for danger, one hand grasping a knife. 

Fortunately - Diego's stomach dropped at the idea that any of this could be considered _fortunate_ \- Five was truly unconscious and not moving. 

Diego reached for Five, but was halted by the sound of Klaus banging through the door. “Guys, we gotta go. They’ve found reinforcements,” Klaus panted. Then he stopped dead in his tracks, spotting his brother crumpled up against the wall, blood pooling out of a head wound. “Oh my god - what happened to Five?” 

“Klaus, no!” He instinctively ran towards Five, but Diego put out an arm to catch him. “There’s - there’s something wrong with him.”

“Yeah I can see that, Diego,” Klaus gestured over at their brother as he tried to wriggle out of Diego’s grasp. “He’s splayed out like a pile of noodles against the wall. So maybe we should _go help him._ ” 

Allison had finished attending to Luther and made her way over to Five. With delicate fingers she pushed his hair out of his eyes. “Five, Five can you hear me?” 

A whine escaped Five’s lips. “Allison…” he muttered. His eyes fluttered for a moment, then his head lolled limply.

Luther looked back at the doorway, where the sounds of their pursuers were now distinctly audible. “Guys, we’ve got to go. Come on, we can figure out what is wrong with Five later. But let’s get him out of here.”

Luther scooped up Five. They fled.

\----

Five dreamed of knives, flying through the air. They cut him, flayed his skin. Diego stood in front of him, an evil grin on his face. Five couldn’t move and the knives kept coming and _he couldn’t move hecouldntmovehecouldnt -_

Five woke up with a gasp. A bright light shone in his eyes. He threw a hand over his face to shield them from the glare. 

Someone was standing over him. He heard a voice calling his name. 

_Reginald?_ No. Not Reginald. This voice was softer. 

_Allison._

A thrill of joy flowed through Five as he forgot everything for a moment except the fact that _his sister was alive._ He sat up, scrubbing at his face as if it would mitigate the pounding headache. Even after all of these weeks, it was still dizzying to remember that he had stopped the apocalypse and saved his brothers and sisters. 

_My family is alive._

“Five?” she said. Her voice was soothing, soft, and she reached up to touch his face. “Five, what happened to you?”

Her touch was a shock, and Five drew in a breath. The memories came flooding back all at once. 

_Shit._

_This was bad._

Given the pain and dizziness in his head, Five reckoned that he had a concussion. He felt lightheaded, woozy. Still, his body reacted as directed by Reginald's modifications, pumping adrenaline through his veins, and quickening his pulse.

“Allison, you’ve got to listen to me.” He swallowed thickly and shivered violently. The symptoms were hitting Five like a freight train. He knew he didn't have much time.

“Five, what’s going on?”

“Reginald - he - “ Five swallowed again, trying to bite down on the heat rising up through his chest. “He - he did something to me. Drugs, or something, I don’t know. But it made me -” Five shivered again.

This time the trembling didn’t stop. 

“Allison, it made me - I can’t control it - I have to - I _want to - “_ he closed his eyes, scrunching up his face against the pain and rage.

“Have to what, Five?” She was close, too close. 

He could _smell_ her. 

Five’s lips curled into a snarl. "Allison, I - oh god, Allison - Allison - i’m - I’m going to - I _want_ to hurt you -" he was pulling at his hair and curling into himself she was _right there,_ he could gouge out her eyes _, rip out her throat, all he needed to do was_ …

Allison drew back away from him. This time, the confusion in her eyes was followed by _fear._

Five advanced on her, slowly, a feral grin once again on his face.

This time, Allison was quicker. A distant part of Five’s brain cheered as she spat out a rumor compelling him to sleep. Still, his body screamed at him - 

G _et her get her she's so close -_

His body tensed and jerked, the uncontrollable rage fighting the rumor's effect for control of Five's body.

He watched as his hands reached out -

_Just a little more, her throat is vulnerable, just a -_

Five jerked backwards, crashing bonelessly back onto the bed as the full force of the rumor finally overtook him.

Once again, the world went black. 

\-----

“What..my god, what did Dad do to him?” Luther muttered.

They had moved Five to the bed. Allison adjusted his limbs, trying futility to arrange in him a comfortable position. His limbs kept shaking and twitching despite her efforts. 

"I don't know," Allison shook her head helplessly. "He’s still unconscious, but his pulse is just _racing._ ”

“How long do you think he’ll be asleep for?” Luther asked.

“Hm, probably a few hours at best,” Allison stood up and looked at her brother. “Remember when you used to have trouble sleeping and you would ask me to rumor you?”

“Yeah, I’d always end up waking up at two AM anyway,” Luther scowled at the memory. Then, he sighed. “Ok, ok well we’ve got some time at least. Let’s figure this out.” 

\---

Five stirred.

“Five?” Allison asked. He blinked at her. She looked over at her siblings who were standing behind her and took one deep breath before turning back to the bed. “Five, I’m sorry, but _I heard a rumor that you couldn’t move._ ”

He closed his eyes and a sound came out of his mouth. Somewhere between a whine and a whisper, it sounded to Allison like no no _no no nononono._

His eyes shot open again and she saw his breath quicken. “Allison?” he whispered. His muscled flexed, as if trying to move, but the rumor held him firmly in place. “Allison…. Please,” he whispered. “I can’t - “

“Five, _I heard a rumor that you told us what happened to you.”_

His eyes glazed over and went white, his body somehow going even more rigid. 

Five felt the rumor like a rush of cold water coursing through his body, mixing with and overpowering the white hot rage in a strange, unpleasant combination of sensations. 

He would tell Allison what she wanted to know. He _wanted_ to tell her. 

He would tell her, and then he would kill her, Five decided. 

“Reginald…” he whispered…”Dad, he _changed_ me. Dad captured me. He drugged me so I couldn’t use my powers. He injected me with... something. He unleashed...I'm a _monster.”_

Luther and Allison shared a frown at this. “What do you mean, _a monster?”_

Five swallowed. “Rage...it's _rage."_ He closed his eyes in despair. The white hot feeling continued building up inside of him, fighting with the rumor for control over his muscles. "I can't - I can't stop it. It makes me want to -" the words burned as they hit his tongue, "It makes me want to _kill you.”_

Five took in a choking breath. The siblings shared another look. “Five, what do you need us to do? How do we fix you?” Luther asked.

He shook his head, now breathing heavily. “I don’t - you can’t.” Sweat poured down his face, his muscles flexing, gaining ground against the restraint of Allison’s rumor. 

Deep down, in the part of Five that was underneath the power of the rumor, the rage boiled and bubbled furiously. “I want to, I want to - oh god,” he screwed his eyes shut and bit down on his lip so hard he drew blood. 

_Just a little more time_.

“I’m going to kill you - Allison _oh god I’m going to kill you I’m going to_ \- " Fives face once again turned into a snarl as his words morphed from a panicked fear to a deadly promise.

“Five! Tell us how to help you,” Luther pleaded, his words holding more than a tinge of desperation. 

“You...you...can’t -” Five choked on the words. 

_Just another minute and you’ll be free_.

Oh god, he didn't want this. “Allison...Allison...p-please…” Five whined. 

He actually _whined_. 

_It'll be so easy._

Killing them would feel _so good_. 

Allison watched in horror as her brother’s face once again morphed into a mask of murderous rage, his body jerking and shaking wildly. 

“ _I heard a rumor you fell asleep_ ,” she spat out, and then covered her face with her hand. Five's body went slack and he sank back against the bed.

Before they closed, Allison thought she saw a flash of gratitude in her brother’s old eyes.

\---

They tried everything they could think of. They chanced a mission back to Reginald’s lab trying to find an antidote. They had to settle for a serum that was accompanied by a label indicating that it would neutralize Five's powers. If he was able to blink, there would be no restraining him.

Allison tried a host of rumors on Five. Nothing helped for very long. 

Every time Five awoke, he had at most a few minutes of lucidity before the monster overwhelmed him. Each time, they watched helplessly as he struggled to maintain control.

Each time he failed. 

Five felt his strength waning. Each time he woke up, the moments of lucidity became harder to maintain. Even before the rage took him, he found himself paralyzed by _horror_ at what he had become. 

Five would _never_ hurt his siblings.

But he _wanted_ to. So, _so_ badly.

There was a moment of panic and then relief when he found that they had the serum to keep him from using his powers. Still, he knew that eventually he would find a way to break free, and it was only a matter of time till the drugs or the rumors failed.

“You have to restrain me, Luther,” Five begged, after he awoke for the third time.

Luther did so, reluctantly, securing Five with cargo straps from a nearby auto parts store.

The fourth time Five awoke he felt relief at the feeling of the tight straps against his chest and around his wrists.

Over the course of the next few hours, Five used his scant moments of lucidity to frantically brainstorm with his siblings any possible way to reverse Reginald’s manipulations.

They tried everything they could think of. 

Nothing worked. 

By the tenth time Five awoke, his body felt like it was burning and freezing simultaneously. His limbs were numb and so was his brain, and he could barely form a coherent sentence before sanity escaped him. 

The _rage_ may have kept Five's body unnaturally energized, but he was _exhausted._

It was the twelfth time that Five awoke when finally Luther made a mistake. He had untied Five to clean some of his wounds and missed a clean him up and missed a knot when he tied him back up. Five pulled free, and was able to get his hands to Luther’s neck, almost snapping it before Allison could spit out a rumor. 

As he felt himself sink back down into the familiarity of the rumor's paralysis, Five fell limply away. His face was wet with sweat and tears.

“You have to - you’re going to have to kill me,” Five panted, as he slipped back under.

They all stared at him, his horrible words reflected in each of their faces.

\---

The next time Five awoke, Klaus's face swam in his vision. He felt Klaus's hands stroking his hair in a throughtful but utterly useless calming motion.

“Hey, hey there buddy,” Klaus said soothingly. 

Five turned his head to look at his brother, and the depths of pain in his eyes were reflected as horror in his brother's. “Klaus,” Five began, his voice weak and tinged with exhaustion and regret. “I _meant_ it. You - you have to kill me.” He shook his head as Klaus began to mumble a protest. _"Listen_ to me. I can’t – I can’t do this much longer. Klaus, I can’t let myself hurt you, but I _will hurt you_ I can feel it, and I -” Five screwed his face shut as he choked on a snarl. 

“Five, no, no - ” Klaus said. “Come on, buddy, there’s got to be another way, We can try - ”

“We’ve _tried_ everything we can think of,” Five interrupted. He was breathing faster now. “And I can’t - I can’t trust myself not to -” Five’s words were cut off as he fought his internal battle.

Klaus threw himself backwards, and Five heard him shout for Allison to _get in here, now_ as Five snarled and threw himself against his restraints. 

“Five -” Klaus said, and Five looked at him, his mouth moving, fighting to form words. “Five, what is is -”

A single word came out. The sound it made was unlike anything Klaus had ever heard from his brother. 

“ _Please_ ,” Five begged. 

\------ 

“Were not really going to kill Five, are we?” Vanya asked nervously. The siblings were gathered around the room’s small table, a mostly untouched pizza between them. No one felt like eating. 

“No,” Luther responded immediately. “Absolutely not. No way.”

“He’s….” Klaus's expression was tragic as he heard Five's plea echo in his mind. “Guys, he’s _suffering.”_

“We’re not going to kill him,” Luther repeated firmly. “No way. We'll just have to find a way to help him.”

The uneasy looks shared around the table made it clear that no one, not even Luther, was convinced. 

\-----

In the end, it was a quick thing. 

Afterwards, the siblings looked at each other with tear stained faces, the horror of the event muddied by the wearied exhaustion that had become their new normal over the last several days.

Allison and Diego both had their backs to Five when _it_ happened. In the blink of an eye, Five snapped his bonds and _lunged_ towards Allison. His face was feral, twisted, and though his eyes screamed in horror, his mouth snarled in rage. 

On reflex, Diego grabbed one of the knives he always kept easily at hand and threw it at Five’s outstretched arm. The knife _slammed_ into Five’s hand and then the wall, pulling Five away from Allison and pinning him against the wall. 

Five howled in pain. 

At the same moment, Diego and Allison realize the gravity of their mistake. Allison gasped, turning too slowly, responding _too slowly_ as Five pulled the knife out of the wall, _out of his hand_. Blood poured out from the injury, pooling around his feet. He ignored it.

He advanced.

Allison opened her mouth, but the rumor caught in her throat as Five doubled over, retching. 

\---

Five _screamed_ in agony. The unbearable pain in his hand had overcome the rage, and Five seized at the small window of control, _willing_ his body to obey. Five looked up at his siblings, saw Allison’s mouth already moving. 

He knew he had only a little time.

But it was enough for one thing. 

The only thing that mattered. 

_I have to save my family._

“I heard a rumor that you…” Allison began spinning the rumor. Five knew she wouldn't be fast enough. The words tumbled out of his mouth in a choking spasm, even as the hand with the knife moved with lightning speed. 

_“I’m sorry.”_

“...dropped the knife.”

Five’s eyes went white as the rumor took hold. The knife fell to the carpeted floor with a muffled thud. 

For a moment everyone was still. 

When time resumed winding, the siblings saw the smallest smile flicker on Five's lips, and he exhaled strangely.

Blood began pouring out of a growing red slash on his neck. His injured hand pressed up to his throat, the bright red blood from one injury intermingling with the blood from the other.

“Oh Jesus, Five, no -” Diego screamed as he rushed forward. He grabbed Five by his uninjured arm, pulling him close as he fell backwards. 

"Oh, shit," Allison screamed and ran forward, pressing her hands desperately against his wound, trying to stave the unyielding tide of red. “Klaus, Vanya, get in here! Get Luther!” she screamed, not taking her eyes off her smallest brother. 

“Five!” Diego cried. “Shit, god, what the hell did you do, Five - ” 

Five’s eyes moved to meet Diego’s, and in last cruel irony, his gaze hardened into a snarl, his hands reached up of their own accord to grab Diego weakly by the throat. 

\---

Five felt his hands shake. His grip was weak and becoming weaker, despite the rage that still howled and burned defiantly inside of him.

“Five...Five…” Allison’s voice sounded in his ears, strangely far away. 

Five saw Klaus run into the room and freeze.

He distantly wished he could do something to alleviate his brother’s obvious terror, and tried smiling but his lips were no longer responding.

_Maybe I’ll see Klaus soon. Or...Ben._

Despite himself, that thought brought a small smile to Five’s face.

Five felt light as he sank down, Diego’s arms wrapped around him. Five watched the spreading blood stain coating both his shirt and his brother's. He felt small hands under his head and guessed they were Vanya's. Allison was still applying pressure to his neck.

He knew it wouldn’t matter. 

Five was a trained assassin, and he didn't miss. 

Regrets floated through Five's mind. Ancient regrets, tired _what ifs_ mingled with more recent mistakes. But mostly, he regretted not coming to this decision earlier, when Reginald first pitted him against his horrible _tests._

Five loved his siblings. He had never wanted them to see him this way. _Broken_. 

_At least they are alive._

In the end, Five made a selfish decision. Despite his regrets, he was glad to have the company of his siblings as he slipped down into the dark. He had lived with their ghosts for so long. It was fitting that they were here now.

As his vision faded, even these thoughts became a distant thing, floating away in the dark.

Five was too tired to chase after his thoughts. He was too tired to do anything.

It was finally, finally time to rest.

\---

Five slumped back, becoming suddenly weightless in Diego's arms. “Five, Five! God no, Shit - Five!” Diego cried.

Tears ran down Diego's face as he watched the light fade from his brother’s eyes. 

Five was gone. 

\---


End file.
